2022 Halloween Challenge

You gotta watch Forbidden World next, Tak. It's the law.

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Use VLC player to download the video (assuming this isn't a rare case where it can't). If you can find the subtitles online as a srt file, a lot video players allow you to play a local file and use an external subtitle file (best to name the .srt the same as the video file, just with a different extension).


Just saying that's an option.

Oh, it was impossible to find for years. I just was lucky to have a video store nearby that had a reputation for stocking the most elusive titles. That place was a godsend for years after I had already watched everything else I could get my hands on by any other means.

I've had Galaxy of Terror sitting unwatched on my shelf (or in a drawer, or down in a basement, or wherever these things might wander off to when they aren't being watched) for twenty years.



I think it was a deliberately shitty Christmas gift from one of my friends. So, out of respect for the holidays, I believe I did put it on. Although I am known to leave rooms to do other things when I put something on to watch, and I'm pretty certain this suffered such a fate. And I've never given it a second chance.

I've already seen it (though I guess it was a Corrie watch because I can't find my review here). Looks like I scored it . Vague memories of a pointless sex scene and a lead character walking around nude, yes? In sunglasses? I refuse to google any images. Maybe at one point they are outside in rocky terrain?

Since I don't have video downloading capabilities, I might just play the english dub on my chromebook while the fancy French version plays muted on my TV.

Yeah, I'm really pleased it's made it onto Shudder.

Good choice.

Also a good choice. All of the choices you've made are the correct ones.

22. The Mortuary Collection (2019/Shudder)



A macabre mortician hires a new assistant, who asks him to share some scary stories. She is unfazed by the tales, which leads him to suspect that there is more to her than meets the eye.

The Mortuary Collection is a good horror anthology with a better than usual wraparound story. The segments are funny at times and incredibly violent. My favorite story was the one about a promiscuous college frat boy because the payoff is more disgustingly satisfying than I was expecting. My least favorite was The Babysitter Murders because there wasn't much to it other than a twist that you could see coming from a mile away. Overall, there is good variety in the stories and together they add up to a fun package.

23. Blackenstein (1973/Criterion Channel)



A young woman gets a job working for a surgeon who is able to successfully transplant new limbs to amputees. She volunteers her veteran boyfriend to undergo this treatment, but a jealous assistant sabotages the procedure. The end result of this meddling is a man turned into a bloodthirsty monster.

This is a cheesy good time. The acting is poor, the monster makeup is shoddy, and the script is amateurish, but that all adds to the charm. I enjoyed how Blackenstein eats flesh like a zombie and always catches his victims despite how extremely slow he is. How he is ultimately stopped is hilarious.

Le Regine aka Queens of Evil, 1977

David (Ray Lovelock) is a young man who one evening has a strange encounter while helping a man with a flat tire. When the man soon thereafter crashes his car and dies, David ends up taking a detour through some woods, finally stumbling on a home occupied by three women: Liv (Haydée Politoff), Samantha (Silvia Monti), and Vivian (Evelyn Stewart). As the women welcome David to their dining room table and into their bedrooms, David begins to experience strange visions and have odd encounters with the women and the house.

Oh, poor David.

For about the first third of this film, I was grumbling a bit about David's general lack of personality. But what begins as something of a deficit weirdly ends up as a kind of a strength in the long run. David doesn't have the strongest personality. He's a young guy--maybe in his mid-20s?--with plenty of philosophical ideas about how love and sex should work, but not a lot of experience. And right from the get-go, because the women are giving him what he wants (food, shelter, sex), it doesn't occur to him that they might be after something more sinister.

A lot of movies where a guy stumbles upon a women or women in an isolated setting hinge on the danger that the man poses to the women. Yes, usually it turns out that the women are just as (if not more) dangerous. But the beginning of such films is often devoted to generating suspense from the danger the male intruder represents. David is the opposite of dangerous. While I wouldn't quite characterize him as having golden retriever energy, he's definitely got Labrador retriever energy. While he might not be the brightest bulb, and might also be a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to his ideas about free love, he certainly doesn't deserve what we can sense is heading in his direction.

In actual impact, the film is very much a mixed bag. There are definitely some strengths in the visuals. My favorite touch was that the living room had the walls covered in enormous portraits of each woman. This leads to some great shots of the women sitting in front of huge versions of their own faces.


There's also some fun imagery in the dream/hallucination sequences. Yes, a lot of it is VERY direct. In one regular scene, one of the women offers David an apple from a tree. Hmmmmmm! In a dream sequence, David envisions one of the women sitting on a chair with her legs spread, a hand emerges from her crotch holding a gun. Hmmmmm! What could it all mean?!

Unfortunately, the conclusion is a bit limp. There's a big exposition dump right at the end and not only does it not entirely fit with what we've seen so far, it's also incredibly on the nose and cheesy. As the film moves to nail down who the women are and the "rules" of what's happened, it ends up taking away from the film's strange and dreamy atmosphere.

Good, but hampered by some weak storytelling that undercuts the fun imagery and weirded elements.

The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, 1968

Sayuri (Yachie Matsui) is a girl who has spent her whole life in an orphanage. One day she is told that she is to be reunited with her birth parents. Ominously, on the day that Sayuri returns home, a maid is found dead, seemingly of a heart attack. It isn't long before Sayuri discovers that she has an older sister, Tamami (Mayumi Takahashi) who lives in the attic due to her scarred face, mental health issues, oh, and she also might be a snake? Tamami is jealous of Sayuri, but things kick up a notch when Sayuri begins to be harassed by a silver-haired witch who hounds her at night.

This film was apparently adapted from two manga stories, kind of mushed together. Overall I thought it was a really fun, stylish film with an interesting blend of cuteness and intensity.

Right off the bat, Sayuri is quite the protagonist. All through the film, we get a LOT of voiceover from her. We hear Sayuri's thoughts on almost every event, and those thoughts are often incredibly obvious. Sayuri's mother will say "Tamami can stay down here with us until your father returns from his trip," and then we get a voice over from Sayuri going "I wonder why she can only stay with us until dad gets back." But Matsui is incredibly likable in the role, and I found her innocent musings more adorable than annoying, though your mileage may vary.

I'm trying to think of a film to compare this to, and I keep going back to something like Spider Baby (though this film is not really a comedy) or even some of the gothic horrors where you have people sweeping up and down stairs, a house full of hidey places and snakes dropping down through ceilings, and a laboratory inside a house and so on. There's a really fun sense of place and possibility. The sequences that involve Sayuri's fantastical dreams and the appearances by the witch really kick things up a notch in that department.

Takahashi is good as the resentful Tamami, a young woman who has been sidelined from her own family and must now reckon with a younger, cuter sibling. But as the film goes on, Tamami struggles mightily with how she feels about Sayuri. That conflict is what ultimately powers the last act of the film and leads to a memorable ending.

The film also gets a good anchor in the form of Sei Hiraizumi, who plays one of the workers at the orphanage where Sayuri grew up. When stuff gets really serious, Sayuri runs to him for help and he becomes her ally for the last third of the film.

I really, really enjoyed this film. Much like Footprints on the Moon, it was fun watching something that was visually engaging, but not overly gory or violent. I would also consider this a film that could be fun to show to someone aged like 8-12 who wanted to watch a horror movie but isn't ready for more intense stuff.

A film on a college campus: Scream 2 (Wes Craven, 1997)



Earlier this month I watched the first Scream movie and loved it, so couldn't wait to see this. It keeps the same style and vibe, although I'd say this one is even goofier and is very much a pastiche of the first one. Just like the first it's fun entertainment and just as well directed. The big problem though is the screenplay, it's simply nowhere near as strong as the first movie. It has many great ideas such as the opening sequence in the cinema, keeping the movie references going, the theatre, the film school. But the writing of the characters is weak and I couldn't relate or care about anyone. Another serious issue is that there's barely any suspense, it cheaply relies on jump scares which are not very effective here. And the last 20 minutes are the weakest which doesn't help. Still it was a solid sequel and since I love the style I still had a good time with this one. I'm giving it a 3/5 although I think most people wouldn't give it that high rating.

A poster alone has never made me add a movie to my watchlist this fast.

It is, as Siddon notes, one of the most enjoyably terrible/stupid movies out there.

Religious Horror: Flavia the Heretic (Mingozzi, 1974)



First revenge, then liberty! A nunsploitation drama film that tells the cruel story of a nun longing to be free of the isolated life she lives. Once things change, her sense of freedom is short and beaten out of her. Engaging and sad, carried by visual storytelling and strong lead performances. Beautiful soundtrack. Nothing to nag about here, recommended.

Violation, 2020

Miriam (Madeleine Sims-Fewer) has a fraught relationship with her sister, Greta (Anna Maguire), something that really comes to a boiling point when the two of them plus Miriam's boyfriend Caleb (Obi Abili) and Greta's husband Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe) spend a weekend together at a cabin. Things get out of hand between Miriam and Dylan after a night of drinking, and Miriam sets out for revenge.

I had started watching this film and then bailed because it was too uncomfortable, but I'm glad I went back to finish it. I think that it takes the horror/thriller trope of the rape-revenge film and does some really interesting, challenging things with it.

The main strength of the film, in my opinion, rests in the lead performances from Simes-Frewer (who also directs) and LaVercombe. It is their chemistry and dynamic that is most at the center of the story for much of the film, and they pull off something really special in the way that these two flawed characters collide and damage each other. What's amazing is that at different points, often simultaneously, you feel empathy and loathing for both of them.

In horror movies, there exists a kind of demented sense of proportionality. We often accept, or even celebrate, acts of violence that are not to scale with the original offense. For example, a character who is a bully might shove our protagonist into a locker, and we later are given permission to cheer as that bully is impaled or otherwise violently dispatched.

Violation sets its sights squarely on that idea of proportional revenge, directly confronting what it means to go too far from the point of view of a character who seems to live in that more theatrical sense of justice.

The set up for all of this is a sequence of sexual assault that occurs between Miriam and Dylan. Now, a lot of sexual assault in horror movies (and there is a lot of sexual assault in horror movies!) is of the stranger danger variety. These sequence usually have almost no nuance to them, and the attackers are rarely given any dimension. The assault sequence in Violation is, to say the least, incredibly complicated. Miriam and Dylan have an obvious sexual chemistry, and we see them have several intimate conversations. Further, at one point Miriam kisses Dylan, though she immediately regrets it and says that it was a mistake. The next morning, while Miriam is asleep, Dylan pulls her clothes down and has sex with her. She tells him to stop, he doesn't.

So is it a sexual assault? Absolutely. But is it a lot more complicated than what we usually get in a horror film? Absolutely. One of the best sequences occurs when Miriam confronts Dylan about what he did. "I was asleep and you f*cked me!" she accuses. The look on Dylan's face is really something. Up to this point, he's repeatedly said "We messed up" and "We made a mistake." Does his expression mean that he genuinely thought she'd be okay with it? Is he upset that his pushing the whole "we" aspect isn't working on Miriam? When Miriam makes it clear that she sees it as an assault, Dylan repeatedly references that she kissed him. When she says that she took it back and that she told him to stop, he goes back again to the fact that "we" messed up.

But there's another wrinkle to this situation, and that's how Miriam approaches conflict. As we learn from Greta, Miriam is somewhat fixated on retribution when she is wronged, to the point of not thinking about the consequences. One possible reading of the assault scene---where Miriam says "stop" once but then doesn't protest again---is that she somewhat "allows" it to happen because it gives her moral leverage against Dylan. (This is further complicated by the fact that we can't know what Dylan would have done if she protested more forcefully---would be have stopped or would he have continued to force himself on her?).

And so, finally, Miriam pursues her revenge against Dylan, an it is brutal. As gross as I found Dylan--and he is a rapist, even if he doesn't seem to think so--the movie pretty quickly establishes that Miriam's intentions are not proportional to the crime. And there's something incredibly chilling about the way that Miriam alternates calm and mania in her behavior. It's as if being wronged has given Miriam permission to unleash the beast, and something really cruel and cold was lurking under the surface just waiting to be turned loose.

One complaint that I read in another review was that the pace of the film is slow and has a lot of interludes of nature imagery. This is true, but since I like nature imagery, I didn't mind so much.

Worth it alone for the nuanced performance from LaVercombe and the chilling turn from Sims-Fewer, but I also happen to think that this is a really interesting take on the rape-revenge trope, and one that takes a more critical look at the character who would normally be the "hero" of such a story.

So with that last film I've completed my second lap around the track. Big thank you to Siddon for setting this up and arranging the categories in such a fun theme! I look forward to reading the rest of all of ya'll's reviews!

My favorites were probably Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch; Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne; Footprints on the Moon; Dementia; City of the Dead; Jigoku; Q The Winged Serpent; Alone in the Dark; Violation; Hellraiser; The Bad Batch; His House; Evil Dead Trap; Christmas Evil; Long Hair of Death; Demons

1. Two Word Horror Film Vicious Fun; Dream Demon
2. A film in a series Tombs of the Blind Dead; Demons
3. A Film in the same series Return of the Blind Dead; Demons 2

4. A film with the same Director/Actor Three from Hell; Castle of Blood
5. A film with the same Director/Actress 31; Long Hair of Death
6. A film with the same Actor/Actress The Munsters; The Ghost

7. A film that shares a word with 8 and 10 Bloody Hell; Evil Dead
8. A film that shares the same word with 7 and 9 Bloody Moon; Christmas Evil
9. A film that shares the same word with 8 and 10 Howling New Moon Rising; All About Evil
10. A film that shares the same word with 7 and 9 Bloody New Year; Evil Dead Trap

11. A Film with a Serial Killer Fender Bender; Phenomena
12. A Film with a Haunted House The Strings; His House
13. A Film on a College Campus Pieces; Torso
14. A Film in a Dystopian Future Bad Batch; Last Man on Earth
15. A Film with a Final Girl Sorority House Massacre; Spookies

16. A film released in 2022 Allegoria; Hellraiser
17. A film released in 2020 (Minus 2 years) Pooka Lives!; Violation
18. A film released in 2002 (Minus 20 years) Deathbed; Three
19. A film released in 1982 (Minus 40 years) Q: The Winged Serpent; Alone in the Dark
20. A film released in 1960 (Minus 62 years) City of the Dead; Jigoku
21. A film released in a double year (1922, 1933, 1944, etc.) Dementia (1955); The Psychic (1977)

22. Anthology-Horror Twice Told Tales; Scare Package
23. Body Horror 964 Pinocchio; Unforgiving
24.Creature Feature Backcountry; Ticks
25. Historical Horror The Wind; Flesh and the Fiends
26. Horror-Comedy Extra Ordinary; Skeleton of Mrs. Morales
27. Psychological Thriller Shrew’s Nest; Footprints on the Moon
28. Religious Horror Prince of Darkness; Believers
29. Science Fiction - Horror Chopping Mall; Galaxy of Terror
30. Sex Horror Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne; Queens of Evil
31. Supernatural Horror Witchboard; Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch

24. The Phantom Carriage (1921/Criterion Channel)



Each year on New Year's Eve, the last person to die before midnight strikes must become Death's carriage driver and bring souls into the afterlife. The newest coachman is David Holm, a former family man who ended up a surly wino. David is horrified at the sight of his first client: the good Christian woman who tried relentlessly to put his life back on the right track.

From the premise, I expected The Phantom Carriage to be about what driving Death's cart entails. In reality, it's a moving drama about one man's refusal to see the error of his ways. It shares a lot of similarities with A Christmas Carol. I loved how Sister Edit never gave up on David, despite how many times he failed. I found it very powerful and got teary-eyed a few times (especially during the final scene). I would not classify this as horror, but it's excellent regardless.

I am way behind, and will not make quota this year, but will try to add at least a few more over the weekend.

1. Two Word Horror Film The Exorcist
2. A film in a series Halloween
3. A Film in the same series Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later

4. A film with the same Director/Actor
5. A film with the same Director/Actress
6. A film with the same Actor/Actress

7. A film that shares a word with 8 and 10
8. A film that shares the same word with 7 and 9
9. A film that shares the same word with 8 and 10
10. A film that shares the same word with 7 and 9

11. A Film with a Serial Killer The Poughkeepsie Tapes
12. A Film with a Haunted House The Conjuring
13. A Film on a College Campus
14. A Film in a Dystopian Future
15. A Film with a Final Girl

16. A film released in 2022 Halloween Ends
17. A film released in 2020 The Dark and the Wicked
18. A film released in 2002 Cabin Fever
19. A film released in 1982 Slumber Party Massacre
20. A film released in 1960
21. A film released in a double year (1922, 1933, 1944, etc.) Barbarian (2022)

22. Anthology-Horror V/H/S/99
23. Body Horror The Hidden
24. Creature Feature Willow Creek
25. Historical Horror Last Night in Soho
26. Horror-Comedy
27. Psychological Thriller
28. Religious Horror The Exorcism of Emily Rose
29. Science Fiction Horror - Possessor
30. Sex Horror
31. Supernatural Horror The Black Phone

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Uh-oh, I need to watch 10 more. Better get busy.
Gonna add some of these to my watchlist, I've only seen Demons out of those.

A film released in 2022: Prey (Trachtenberg)



A very solid action movie set in beautiful nature and landscapes. Well done action scenes. The idea of the hunt and prey worked well with the comanche inspired characters. I liked the lead acting performance. The movie needed to have more suspense. While the predator looks very cool, it wasn't intimidating enough. It's a bit of a fail when you make a predator movie and the brown bear is more terrifying than the predator. My only other complaint is that the movie would have been more effective if it had tighter pacing.

I love this holiday, although I don’t really like watching horror films. Who has the same?

well i dont celebrate halloween, today i went to a halloween event and half of people like me didnt wear halloween costume